Antioch
by Not Joe
Summary: The story of fenix's defense of Antioch from Starcraft I. Readers, i no ur out there, r and r!
1. Skirmish

Fenix walked down the hall of the Citadel of Antioch, preparing himself to send the distress signal to the Conclave and Executor. A dragoon on scouting patrol had picked up zerg troops, and, after killing many but being wounded badly, returned to Antioch with news of zerg troops that could easily make waste of Antioch's defenses.

Fenix groaned. With Tassadar or Zeratul he could easily defeat these zerg; with an executor he could defend the enemy well long after help arrived. But as it were, he had only 200 zealots, 100 dragoons, 30 probes, 20 photon cannons, 3 archons, and 40 scouts, along with an arbiter. But arbiters were useless when there was only one.

"General Fenix!" called a voice behind him.

"Ah. Lieutenant Asriel," said Fenix. "What's the report?"

"We have accounted for nearly two thousand zerg, sir," said Asriel, grimly.

"_TWO THOUSAND_!" roared Fenix. They had less than 400 soldiers! "I'll send word to Executor and the Conclave right now!" He would've called on Tassadar, but he was in exile, and so was Zeratul.

"Too late, Fenix," said Asriel stoically.

"What?"

"Our signals are being jammed."

"Jammed? Like Space Balls?" asked Fenix.

"No sir. We have no transmission."

"Oh. Then come with me. We're going to scout the perimeter. Suit up!" said Fenix.

Ten minutes later, Fenix set out with ten hand picked zealots, 2 dragoons, and Asriel. All of the zealots had plasma rifle along with their plasma blades, the dragoons were carrying extra battery chargers, and Fenix and Asriel were carrying 2 plasma pistols along with their blades, a knife, and a rifle each. They were well equipped.

They left the bunker, and Fenix immediately wished they didn't. It had to be at least 100 degrees out, and even though Protoss skin was stronger than humans', they were cooking.

Fenix saw something about 200 yards away. Or was it just a mirage? No, it was a stop sign. No. A mirage. Just a mirage that moved.

That's when a hydralisk's needle spine came whizzing out of nowhere. It landed in a zealot's shoulder, and he grunted and ripped it out, gasping in pain.

Fenix whipped out his rifle and a shot a few rounds at the direction he thought the needle had come from. Suddenly something hit him in the side and he was knocked over. He turned over to see a zergling be sliced in half by a zealot.

Fenix whipped out his pistols and started firing at a hydralisk, and kicked a zergling in the head, before he blew it apart with a pistol. (I just can't get over the fact that Fenix is fighting with pistols. It's pwnage!)

Asriel was blocking off an attack from a half dozen zerg, and they were pinning him back against a rock. Fenix roared and leapt at them, slashing with his laser blades. Then he pulled out his pistols again and killed the remainders in a matter of seconds and gun blasts.

"Retreat to the citadel!" yelled Fenix.

Fenix ran up to cover a zealot who was about to be slaughtered by a zerg from behind him. Fenix fired at the hydralisk, but nothing happened. He looked at the clip and it was empty. Going on impulse, he threw a pistol at the hydralisk, whacked it with the other, and then tackled it.

The zealot he rescued charged up and stabbed the zerg while Fenix held it down.

"Good job, soldier I- said Fenix. He stopped as the soldier was shredded apart from a zergling.

He activated his lasers, and cut it in half. The action was dying down. The last zergs were being slaughtered. He stomped a wounded zergling and it stopped struggling. He looked down at the zealot that had died. He wondered, if he had been more vigilant, and hadn't tried to congratulate this soldier in the heat of battle, would he have survived?


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

Dum spiramus tuebimur

The return to the citadel was uneventful for Fenix and his squad.

"It was only an advance squad. There will be more," said Fenix to Asriel once they were back in the citadel.

"Sir," said Asriel. "The men are discouraged. They know the force that approaches us. They know it's impossible. Look at them! Their courage hangs by a thread!"

Fenix whirled on Asriel. "Lieutenant! I thought you were a worthy protoss warrior! Why else would I choose _you_ to be my one of my officers! You disgust me…" Fenix turned and stalked down the hall, barking orders as he went.

Asriel looked at his plasma blades, as if looking for an answer in the ancient protoss weapon. Did he deserve it? What Fenix said had hit Asriel hard, but it was true. He thought of the oncoming zerg horde, and how hopeless it seemed. He also thought of his son and wife. He thought about how he had sworn to never let the swarm get to his family. Then an alarm went off.

"Zerg incoming! All available warriors report to the Assembly Room!" said the mechanical voice of the alarm system.

Asriel straightened his back, and checked his plasma blades. They were still charged, and his pistols and rifle were loaded. He ran towards the assembly room, a determined look in his eye.

"My friends." Said Fenix, starting the briefing. "We all know the zerg are coming. Most of you know the size of the horde that is getting closer as we speak. I would like you to remember one thing when you go fight: Dum spiramus tuebimur. While we live, we shall defend. Fight for your family, or your friends. Keep your friends close to you out there. No one is left behind. Let's go!"

There was no talking from the protoss after the briefing. Only loyal fighters rushing to their posts, their sense of duty overriding their sense of fear. Fenix was going to lead the zealots out to fight the frontline of the zerg, all the time being backed up by the dragoons and scouts with suppressive fire. Then the archons would charge out and cover the retreat of the zealots, when the zealots would then arm themselves with rifles and the archons would come back inside, then the zealots would stay out for as long as it wasn't too risky or the zerg brought reinforcements, when the photon cannons would open up. This was Fenix's plan. He had used it many times, and hoped that it would still not fail him, for it never had.

The archons were about to open up the doors (they were so big that only archons were strong enough to hold them), and Fenix turned on his blades. He and the zealots were going to have to cross about a hundred yards of barren field, and the only things supporting them were the dragoons, but that was still not going to have too much effect if the zerg's numbers were as big as they thought.

Nonetheless, when the gate was opened, Fenix leapt out first, sprinting as fast as he could towards the line of zerg approaching them. Ten seconds and they were upon them. Fenix's world turned into an eruption of sound and the purple and red bodies of the zerg.

Fenix was a large protoss. He picked up a zergling and batted it into an onrushing hydralisk. It hesitated; just long enough for Fenix to slice it half. He stomped on the zergling he had used as a temporary weapon and charged forward, slicing and hacking at whatever wasn't wearing the armor of a protoss.

A zealot was mutilated by a hydralisk right in front of Fenix, and he tripped on it in his rampage. Zerglings were instantly all over him, and he started slashing at them.

Asriel saw Fenix fall. The lieutenant forgot every scrap of common sense he had ever been taught, and ran into the fray, focusing only on the fact that the bravest person he'd ever known was going to die unless he did something.

Three Zerglings were clawing at Asriel, and he ripped them off. He was dully aware that he was hurt and bleeding, but he put it in the back of his brain and kept fighting towards Fenix.

Fenix saw Asriel coming and the glazed look in his eyes. This warrior was never going to stop, and he was most likely going to die. Fenix got up and started fighting again. Asriel got clawed by a hydralisk, yelled at it, and the protoss head-butted it, then shoved his blades so deep into the stomach of the creature, until his fist bumped against the scales.

Then Asriel was surrounded by zerg. Fenix was too far away to get to him in time. Or so Fenix thought. Asriel was so desperate his mind was shutting out all pain and noise. His only thought right then was to kill all these zerg before they killed Fenix, or him. He took a deep breath, and went all out on the zerg, like a true zealot. Fenix was almost to him, when a shadow fell over the battling zerg and protoss.

An ultralisk had come from the back lines and was bearing down on the fighters. Asriel saw it coming, swung his blades to make a path, and then made a suicide run at the ultralisk, knocking Fenix out of the way as he did so.

The ultralisk swung back his head, preparing to gore Asriel with his tusks, but Asriel side-stepped and sliced at one of its legs, making it topple over. As the creature collapsed on top of Asriel, the lieutenant stuck his blades up above his head.

A late dragoon blast hit the ultralisk, and it was knocked off of Asriel. Fenix slew the zerg that had gathered around the bodies and ran over to Asriel. A zealot saw him and covered his back.

"Asriel…

"Don't worry Praetor." Fenix paused as he coughed up some blood. "The Tribunal will look over me when I go on to the next life."

"You didn't have to do that, Lieutenant," said Fenix.

"You didn't have to stay and fight. But you did. Against all odds, General, when you could've run away and come back with reinforcements. I'm proud…no, _glad_, that I died defending a brave warrior like you. Goodbye, brother."

A tear ran down Fenix's cheek, but he wasn't crying. He had forgotten how to a long time ago. But he hadn't forgotten the zerg around him, and they would remember the pain he was about to put on them.

**If any of you have ever seen Fenix in Action, it was nothing like what he did after Asriel died. If you saw it, you'd take pity on the zerg, and yourself for having to see it, and maybe even for some Goths who wish they could die by being brutally slaughtered. And remember: you can't spell slaughter without laughter. Back to the story.**

Fenix looked at the path he'd made through the swarm, and stayed behind to guard the zealots who were running through it, like the Israelites through the parted red sea, (I can totally imagine Fenix with a staff and Moses robes) , and made it back to the citadel. They ran to arm themselves with their rifles, but there was a problem: the zerg were in the citadel.

CLIFFHANGER!


	3. A desperate battle

Chapter 3:

Zerg in the base!

Note: thanks to Magnus Scriptor for leaving the first review, please continue

Fenix dodged a sudden hydralisk attack, and gutted the creature, who screeched in pain and fell back, only to be replaced by three more. To the Praetor, things looked hopeless. The zerg had come in around the back of the base and broken through, engaging the small forces that had stayed behind.

A zergling leapt onto Fenix's arms. And Fenix stumbled, but didn't fall down. He jumped to the right as a hydralisk fired a needle spine, and broke the zergling's neck. He used the zergling as a shield for another needle spine, and then ran at the hydralisk who was sniping at him.

Fenix dove under a scythe attack from the zerg, rolled forward, and shoved his plasma blades up through its abdomen, feeling resistance when he reached the spine. He slid his blades back out, blood spurting from the chest of the zerg.

He ignored the sounds of squealing zerg and the howls and roars of pain from the dying or wounded protoss. Any scrap of hope seemed lost, until the archons came.

They made a path through the zerg, their psionic energy blasting holes in hydralisks and zerglngs as easily as poking a toothpick through Styrofoam. One archon grabbed an ultralisk by the tusks and snapped it's neck with it's powerful arms.

Fenix ducked as a mutilated zergling was flung away by an archon and passed over him. Fenix and the other zealots grabbed plasma rifles and covered the archons by firing at the zerg trying to sneak up on the archons. The shield batteries recharged the protoss shields, and the defenders went to the offensive.

Dragoons leapt off the battlements, crushing zerg and opening fire with their plasma ball, which vaporized the insect-like creatures. Scouts rained lasers down on the hydralisks and fired missiles at the mutalisks and scourges.

An overlord dropped down four hydralisks near Fenix before being blown up by scouts and dragoons. Fenix and three zealots dropped their rifles; one picked up a pistol, like Fenix, and ran at the zerg. Two were downed by pistol fire, and one was tackled by the two zealots that were using their plasma blades to slash and stab at it.

Meanwhile, Fenix and the other zealot were fighting the remaining hydralisk, who was firing needle spines at the zealot and using its claws to combat Fenix. A needle spine caught the zealot in the stomach, and he stumbled, immediately being hit by four more.

The hydralisk charged at Fenix, who blocked a jab from one of its claws but was tripped by its tail. Fenix rolled out of the way, looking for an opportunity to counter the attacks. Suddenly the hydralisk jerked and collapsed, and Fenix saw the wounded zealot holding a smoking pistol, plucking needle spines from his body, and grimacing in pain.

The other two zealots had finished off the hydralisk, and joined Fenix.

"Check out this wounded soldier," Fenix told one of the zealots, who rushed over to the fallen zealot, and started stanching his wound with a rag.

Then, for no apparent reason, the wounded zealot shoved the medic out of the way. A split second later, a glave wurm from a mutalisk tore through his ribs, and he died. The glave wurm rebounded off the ground and Fenix deflected it with his blades.

Fenix ran behind a tree, along with the other zealots, and pulled out his rifle, firing at the approaching mutalisk. Then a group of zerglings jumped out of the trees and attacked Fenix. A stray rifle shot knocked a tree branch loose and it fell and hit a zealot.

The zealot was knocked unconscious, and the zerg fell upon, laying waste to his armor and body with their ferocious attack. Fenix knocked a zergling off of the body and stabbed another, withdrawing his arm just in time to parry another blow.

The last zealot got back to back with Fenix, and for a while, they held their ground very well. Fenix and the zealot, in their almost certain victory, were separating a bit. There were a half dozen zergling left, but there was now enough space for them to fit in the gap between Fenix and the zealot.

A zergling clawed Fenix in the back of his head and everything went black.


	4. Mojo is actually in the story

Scout's turn

Mojo swung the joystick to the right, and the scout twisted in midair, missing the incoming glave wurms and scourges. He turned his scout around and fired some missiles at the scourges, vaporizing them instantly. A scout went down next to him, scourges tearing through the hull, and exploding in their kamikaze attack.

The scouts retreated back to the photon cannons, which opened up on the incoming zerg, in the air and the ground. Mojo rained some lasers down on the hydralisks and swerved to the left as a wounded mutalisk tried to ram him.

Suddenly a transmission came to Mojo's scout, so he flew to the back lines to hear it.

"En Taro Adun, Praetor Mojo!" said the voice of Judicator Aldaris. "We have lost the signal from Praetor Fenix's communicator. We fear the worst."

"Where are the dragoon squadrons, sir?"

"Right below you, Praetor,"

"Then they'll come with me." said Mojo.

He sent a message down to the dragoons, telling them to form on him. He also picked out the scouts that were in the best condition, and took them with him. He also brought the Arbiter, hoping that it could shield them as they tried to rescue their leader.

He led the formation, twisting and turning in the air, dodging the battle that was raging around them. He boosted his engines, and the rest of the scouts followed suit. They traveled east, the last place the Judicator had connected to Fenix.

The scene below them was not reassuring. There were two dead zealots, and as the scouts flew in lower, they saw many slaughtered hydralisks and zerglings. Blood covered the trees and the ground.

Then Mojo picked up two protoss bodies with his thermal sensors, covered in zergling carcasses. He swooped down, and landed. He and the other scouts piled out of their ships, and armed themselves with plasma rifles. Mojo walked over to where the sensors had picked up the heat signals, and started lifting zerglings out of the pile until he saw Fenix's arm. He grabbed it, and a zergling leapt up and clamped onto Mojo's arm with his teeth and claws.

Fenix's head popped from the pile of "dead" zerg and yelled, "It's a trap!"

A dozen hydralisks that were burrowing ripped out of the ground, and attacked the dragoons and pilots. Mojo banged the zergling on his arm against one of the trees, and he heard a crack. The zergling fell, squealing in pain, before the newly freed Fenix shoved his blades down its jugular.

Mojo pulled out his pistol with his good arm and starting adding to the fire that the dragoons had begun.

Fenix leapt into the fight like a tornado. The hydralisks that had been firing needle spines were completely caught by surprise. Fenix was finding new ways to kill hydralisks when the dragoons opened fire again, and the pilots sniped with their rifles.

The fight was short, and the zerg lay slain on the forest floor. Fenix wiped some blood off of his face with his arm, and smiled at Mojo.

"En taro Adun, Mojo. Thank you for the rescue. Now come, we have a base to defend."


	5. Fenix makes his stand

Fenix makes his stand

Note: keep reviewing people. I like zealots having guns, too, but they don't get owned ever. They simply go easy on certain things like cannons and other missile firing units.

Back at the base, Fenix knew that his time to talk was limited by the crashes and thuds outside of the Gateway. The building was like a second home to the zealots and dragoons, so Fenix thought that it was a good place to inspire them in these hard times.

The zerg were about to overrun them. Fenix had a plan. He was not going to tell this plan to his warriors, for it would scare them. And scared soldiers were worse than civilians. _Civilians…..ugggh. (yay to dissing myself. Holy crap! Diss is not a word according to spellcheck! Nor is spellcheck!)_

"En taro adun, brothers. You have been very brave in the face of all these dangers. I would just like you to know that I and the Conclave are very proud of you. And remember all of the ones back at Auir depending on us vanquishing these filthy creatures. Remember that, men, and you shall succeed."

Fenix hoped that his speech would give his men enough energy to hold off the zerg for him to accomplish his plan.

Mojo pulled the trigger again, and the zergling in front of him exploded, and its blood made two zerglings slip and loose their footing before a zealot pounced on them, making mince-meat out of them.

Mojo only had to distract he zerg for about ten minutes, before Fenix was going to do.

Fenix approached the pylon, the ancient source of power for the protoss. His plan was going to work, there was enough energy in the pylon to destroy the whole zerg army, but harnessing it was going to be different.

The archons were holding the gates of the citadel shut, and the zealots had now fallen back, as Fenix had ordered them to. The scouts were pretending to be overrun and turned back. Fenix thrust one of his blades into the pylon, and immediately he felt a burning sensation.

He was dully aware that the gates had been open, because he was more focused on channeling the pylon's energy. But then a zergling clutched onto his arm, the one that was stuck in the pylon. The pain was unbearable for Fenix. The combination of the zergling and the fiery psionic energy of the pylon was going to kill him, he now knew that.

He was about to withdraw his arm, when he remembered a lieutenant. A lieutenant that was willing to give his life for his praetor, for his friend. Fenix had sworn that his sacrifice would not be in vain, and if he backed out now, Asriel's life would've been wasted.

Fenix roared in a mixture of pain and fury and with a sudden pump of will power and adrenaline, linked himself with the energy of the pylon. He looked at the hell-beasts approaching him, intruding on his citadel, and unleashed the full fury of a protoss warrior.

The zergling on his arm popped, vaporized instantly. He pointed at the oncoming swarm, and like a funnel, fired the psionic power of the pylon. The zerg army was destroyed in the first blast.

**If anyone is confused on how that happened, remember how Tassadar dies in the game, when he channels the dark templar's energy through the carrier and destroys the overmind. It's basically the same principle.**

**EPILOGUE: **

_Mojo walked through the desecrated carcasses of the zerg army, looking for a sign of his commander. The citadel was all but destroyed by the tremors after the explosion and the explosion itself. _

_He found the tattered body of Praetor Fenix, and laid it in an empty dragoon's shell. _


End file.
